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Ponte Academic Journal
Jul 2020, Volume 76, Issue 7

TILLAGE MANAGEMENT AS A METHOD OF WEED CONTROL IN MANGWENI, NKOMAZI LOCAL MUNICIPALITY, SOUTH AFRICA

Author(s): Isaac Azikiwe Agholor ,Moses Zakhele Sithole

J. Ponte - Jul 2020 - Volume 76 - Issue 7
doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2020.7.16



Abstract:
The objective of the study was to determine the influence of tillage management strategies on weed\r\ncontrol, assess the impact of weed in crop production; and examine farmers’ adoption behaviour\r\nin the use of modern weed control methods. The study employed a survey of a randomized sample\r\nof 160 farmers in Mangweni in Mpumalanga Province. Logistic regression model was adopted to\r\nanalyse data collected from farmers. The results show that farmers are aware of the menace of\r\nweeds in terms of cost. Results also reveal that farmers who had lesser weed count in their crop\r\nfield were involved in practicing zero tillage. Furthermore, some socio-economic predictor\r\nvariables were found to have influence on the adoption of modern weed control methods.\r\nSignificant variables were age (P-value =.008), education (P-value = .056), household size (Pvalue = .005), income (P-value = 047) and number of children (P-value = .016). The paper\r\nrecommend that, for farmers with low resources, zero tillage remains a viable option and needs to\r\nbe evaluated further for weed control purposes. A good understanding of decision making process\r\nwill assist to intensify adoption of new methods of weed control. Farmers’ capacity building\r\nshould be enhanced through training as this will allow for well-informed decision making.
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